Recently, a Short Message Service, SMS, has been broadly used between mobile communication users. Also, a wireless Internet has been used more and more.
The SMS facilitates that a sender sends a short message by using mobile communication service to a recipient, then the recipient can receives the short message.
The SMS may be implemented by two ways. The one way is that a sender connects a web site using Internet and transmits a short message to a recipient using mobile communication terminal. The other way is that a sender using mobile communication terminal sends a short message to a recipient using mobile communication terminal.
To receive the short message, a separate terminal is needed. Also, the terminal may receives the short message in the middle of conversation. If a mobile communication terminal may not receive the short messages because of being turned off the power supply of the terminal, the short messages may be stored in a Short Message Service Center, SMSC. After that time, if the power supply is turned on, a message for indicating the arrival of the short messages is displayed on the display device. The terminal may receive the short messages stored in the SMSC according to a predetermined way. Also, recently, a sender, a user of one communication service company, may send short messages to a recipient, a user of another communication service company. Because a short message made of maximum 224 characters of the English may be send by using the SMS technology, the SMS technology has been used for providing weather information, stock information, transacting e-business, and other fields.
With the SMS methods, data of large size (for example, moving pictures) may not be transmitted, because the maximum size of data for transmitting is 224 characters of the English.
By using the wireless Internet technology, data provided by server may be transmitted to a user terminal via an Interworking Function, IWF, and a base station. A user may confirm the received data by handling a user terminal. Otherwise, data transmitted from the user terminal may be transmitted to the server via the IWF and the base station. The IWF has a modem and PPP server. Accordingly, users may receive or transmit data using only mobile communication terminal.
The WAP gateway converts data in HTTP protocol pattern into wireless data. If the function of the WAP gateway is embarked in the user terminal, separate WAP gateway may not be needed. Namely, a mobile communication terminal embarking the ME (Mobile Explorer) developed by MS may execute the function of the WAP gateway.
However, if users wish to use the data service by using the wireless Internet, they should connect the communication channel by handling their terminals and request the data service. Also, the service provider may not provide the data service for the users arbitrary, before the communication channel is connected by the users.